Newmarket 4:50 Result

Huscal is in career-best form, with three wins from his last four starts including his last two, showing improving figures (43211 reading right to left shows steady progress culminating in back-to-back victories). He races off a fair mark of 88 having won under a penalty last time, suggesting the handicapper hasn't fully caught up. Charles Hills is a strong trainer at this level and Marco Ghiani rides. Tongue tie already fitted and working, no need for new headgear angle to worry about. Drawn 5, a workable stall for 7f at Newmarket. He looks to have more upside than most in a competitive but not overly deep contest, and his profile of a lightly-raced sort finding his stride at the right time is exactly the type to look for in a big handicap field. Against the more exposed types like Arctic Dawn and Five Ways who carry big weights off marks in the 100s having had mixed recent form (Five Ways particularly patchy: 750460), and Native American who is fresh from a break of over 200 days and unproven fitness-wise, Huscal's trajectory and fresh, progressive profile give him the edge. Rocking Ends also in form (form figures ending 503) but lower rated and less scope for further improvement. Sword Maker is interesting for Godolphin/Murphy but unproven make-up after a break and stepping into a stronger field. Overall, Huscal represents the best combination of proven recent scoring ability, a trainer in form, and a mark that may still be workable. He's the value angle in a race where the market may over-focus on the bigger-money horses at the top of the weights.